Forum newsfeeds 
|  | | Notices | You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post. Please note, all posts are moderated by our in-house language experts, so make sure your suggestions, help, and advice house the kind of information an international language teacher would offer. If not, and your posts do not contribute to the topic in a positive way, they will be subject to deletion. | 
21-Mar-2008, 00:01
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Oct 2007 Country: China
Posts: 585
Current Location: Fuzhou First Language: Chinese Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 865
Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts
| |  can know
None of my dictionaries contains the use of 'can know', so I'm not familiar with it. Does it mean 'know' or ' can learn' or anything else?
This sentence comes from BNC:
Firstly, you can know that you are an OK person because you are the most fantastically designed, ...
Thank you in advance. |
21-Mar-2008, 00:08
|  | Moderator | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Country: UK
Posts: 16,785
Current Location: UK First Language: English Member Type: Other Thanks: 5
Thanked 3,908 Times in 3,670 Posts
| | Re: can know
Without more context - you are aware that..... | | The Following User Says Thank You to Anglika For This Useful Post: | |
21-Mar-2008, 02:04
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Oct 2007 Country: .
Posts: 1,589
Current Location: . First Language: Portuguese Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 747
Thanked 68 Times in 63 Posts
| | Re: can know
i would like to follow up this thread.
thanks. |
21-Mar-2008, 05:43
| | Newbie | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Country: India
Posts: 30
Current Location: Madras First Language: Telugu Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts
| | Re: can know
Assuming this were a report on some one who's reading it, then can know is acceptable - as if the examiner is directly talking to the person. But it's better to say Firstly, you must/should know...
Can/Could means it may or may not happen. And this doesn't seem to be the case in this sentence (the assessor very much knows what is being written there) | | The Following User Says Thank You to schmoozed For This Useful Post: | |
21-Mar-2008, 08:51
|  | Senior Member | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Country: Poland
Posts: 1,359
Current Location: Swindon, England First Language: Polish Member Type: Other Thanks: 13
Thanked 264 Times in 253 Posts
| | Re: can know
Quote:
Originally Posted by joham  None of my dictionaries contains the use of 'can know', so I'm not familiar with it. Does it mean 'know' or ' can learn' or anything else?
This sentence comes from BNC:
Firstly, you can know that you are an OK person because you are the most fantastically designed, ...
Thank you in advance. | The modal can is often used with the so-called verbs of thinking (or verbs of the mind), so instead of saying ...you know... you can say ...you can know... (meaning roughly the same).  | | The Following User Says Thank You to engee30 For This Useful Post: | |
21-Mar-2008, 23:49
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Oct 2007 Country: .
Posts: 1,589
Current Location: . First Language: Portuguese Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 747
Thanked 68 Times in 63 Posts
| | Re: can know
Quote:
Originally Posted by engee30 The modal can is often used with the so-called verbs of thinking (or verbs of the mind), so instead of saying ...you know... you can say ...you can know... (meaning roughly the same). | hi,
extremely interesting!
I wouldn't bet a single dime on it.
how common is this usage?
can I say "you may know" instead of it?
thanks. |
21-Mar-2008, 23:53
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Country: Poland
Posts: 1,359
Current Location: Swindon, England First Language: Polish Member Type: Other Thanks: 13
Thanked 264 Times in 253 Posts
| |  Re: can know
Quote:
Originally Posted by jctgf hi,
extremely interesting!
I wouldn't bet a single dime on it.
how common is this usage?
can I say "you may know" instead of it?
thanks. | No way! That usage of can is related to the ability of the mind only!
Look at Anglika's first post in this thread: http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/267721-post2.html You may know... = Perhaps you know.../Maybe you know...  | | The Following User Says Thank You to engee30 For This Useful Post: | |
22-Mar-2008, 00:00
|  | Senior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2008 Country: Aotearoa
Posts: 1,268
Current Location: Te Ika a Maui First Language: NZ English Member Type: Other Thanks: 18
Thanked 314 Times in 260 Posts
| | Re: can know
Quote:
Originally Posted by engee30 No way! That usage of can is related to the ability of the mind only!
Look at Anglika's first post in this thread. You may know... = Perhaps you know.../Maybe you know... |
I'm not a teacher, but I would say that in the context of the original quote "you may know" would fit almost as well as as "you can know".
"you can know that you are an OK person because you are the most fantastically designed, ..."
"you may know that you are an OK person because you are the most fantastically designed, ..."
As a non-teacher, I don't know the technical framework, but I hear the possibility of both similarity and difference. It would not be out of the question for someone to use "you may know" in this context. I would parse the phrase saying: "you can (or may) have confidence that" or "you can (may) rest assured that" | | The Following User Says Thank You to stuartnz For This Useful Post: | |
22-Mar-2008, 00:21
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Country: Poland
Posts: 1,359
Current Location: Swindon, England First Language: Polish Member Type: Other Thanks: 13
Thanked 264 Times in 253 Posts
| | Re: can know
I am neither a native speaker of English nor a teacher, but, to my way of thinking and to my knowledge, the modal can cannot be substituted with may in this case, with the same meaning remained. | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes |  Linear Mode | 
Posting Rules
| You may post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | All times are GMT. The time now is 13:01. | |
